Legislation that helps protect coastal communities and further their economic future has passed the U.S. Senate and now faces a vote in the House of Representatives.
The bipartisan Digital Coast Act is focused on helping coastal communities better prepare for storms, cope with water levels and plan for future economic development, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-WI.
The bill reauthorizes NOAA’s Digital Coast Program, which Murkowski and Baldwin previously spearheaded efforts to reestablish in 2020. NOAA currently assembles and hosts the Digital Coast Project, a collaborative online database of the most up-to-date coastal information, and makes it available to both the public and private sectors. Digital Coast also provides tools for coastal communities to decipher and use the high-tech mapping data to make accurate decisions and smart investments in coastal communities.
Murkowski said the legislation has proven to be a vital resource in equipping coastal communities with the tools they need to adapt and thrive in escalating climate change.
The Digital Coast Act reauthorizes the program and ensures that communities will continue to have the data to make smart choices for economic development, shoreline management, and coastal restoration. The bill supports further development of the current project, including increasing access to uniform, up-to-date data, to help communities get the coastal data they need to respond to emergencies, plan for long-term coastal resilience, and manage their water resources.
